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Dutch Youngsters on TV: "Too Bad Not All Jews Were Killed"

"What would happen if the word Muslim were substituted for Jew?" asked a writer about the hate-filled video that elicited only apathy.

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Arutz Sheva Staff, 05/03/13 21:51

Anti-Semitism (illustration)

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Arutz Sheva was sent this shocking video of a broadcast on the Dutch Nederland 2 station that took place on the 17th of February. The interviewer is a volunteer youth worker Mehmet Sahin who tries to reeducate Turkish youngsters in Arnhem, a major city in the eastern part of the Netherlands.

For over a week there was hardly any reaction in the Netherlands. Nine days later, one well-known columnist, Elma Drayer, published an article in the Dutch daily Trouw in which she wrote how scandalous it was that there had been no reaction.

She wrote that if Dutch youngsters had said on television that it would have been a good thing had all Muslims been slaughtered, including little babies, there would have been massive reactions about how horrible this was.

Dutch pro-Muslim organizations would probably have organized a demonstration in which prominent leftists would also have marched.

She concluded that Jew hatred in the Netherlands is back where it had been before the Holocaust.

The video was given English subtitles by Ken Sikorski, owner of Tundra Tabloids in Finland, and sent to Arutz Sheva in order to make sure the event does not go unremarked.

Arutz Sheva interviewed anti-Semitism expert Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld with respect to the video and the lack of a Dutch response.

Q: Was there a reaction from the Jewish side?

A: The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel (CIDI), which also monitors anti-Semitic incidents in the Netherlands, asked the Minister of Education to take the initiative for a nationwide investigation about anti-Semitic prejudices among high school students.

Q: Are such statements criminal offenses in the Netherlands?

A: They may be. CIDI, however, decided not to put in a complaint with the police in order not to hinder the work of the volunteer!

Q: How do you view this?

A: I think it is probably a wrong decision. What was shown here on television is the tip of the iceberg. Due to its mistaken immigration policies of the past decades, the Netherlands – like many other European countries – has allowed, in an indiscriminate manner, one million Muslim immigrants into the country.

They come often from countries where anti-Semitism is far more widespread than in the Netherlands. Even though the authorities do not wish to undertake investigations on this subject, it is clear that in the case of anti-Semitism among Muslims in the Netherlands there are three evident conclusions:

First: anti-Semitism among Muslim immigrants and their progeny is much wider spread than in the autochthonous Dutch population.

Second: violent anti-Semitic incidents perpetrated by Muslims are often more extreme than those incidents perpetrated by the native Dutch.

Three: Muslim leaders and organizations often remain silent about such incidents. This gives the impression of that whoever remains silent agrees or at least does not mind. There are only a few exceptions in the Muslim community.

Q: Why have the Dutch authorities not taken initiatives on this matter long ago?

A: I had a conversation this week with a very senior former Dutch politician and ex-minister. He says that it is out of fear of the Muslim population and the potential violence of part of it.

I think that is one reason, but not the sole one. Some political parties, such as Labor, receive a lot of Muslim votes and do not want to upset a major voting block.

Another reason is that the Netherlands once practiced severe racism in its former colonies. Many Dutch people now have feelings of guilt and claim that only white people can be racists. Therefore they look away as much as possible from minority racism and anti-Semitism.

In fact, that means looking away from the major Muslim anti-Semitism.

Q: You said that the TV broadcast was the tip of the iceberg. What do you mean by saying this?

A: The youth interviewed in the TV program were street youth, all boys. The media tries to create the impression that this is the only segment of the Muslim community where there are such problems. This is untrue. The problems of Holocaust denial and rabid anti-Semitism can also be found among many other Dutch Muslims, including university students. There is no difference between boys and girls on the subject.

There is also a desire to keep this knowledge about widespread Muslim anti-Semitism away from the public as much as possible.